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GoZipsGoZips

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  1. Great points. Did not think about the time frame aspect. Honor a guy who played 10 years ago for your opposing team? I think that's overkill. Overkill...? People actually pay me to think. He died in Akron... Ohio... right here on the soccer field. We have never even acknowledged it. His story made the ESPN headline 2 days ago... so it's fresh again. Acknoledge him now... and that his death was a tragedy for college soccer... not just OSU... and maybe Ohio State doesn't use it to pump up for the game every year. You will probably see some "Play Like Connor" shirts today. It happened just after 9-11... 2001. I was in NYC on 9-11... and for the rest of the year... so I have a better memory of that than most Akronites... but I still remember the impact of the death of a soccer player on our field.
  2. Has Akron Ever Recognized Connor Senn? This is the 10th Anniversary of his death while playing Akron. This was published on ESPN 2 days ago: http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/...yer-connor-senn Ohio State plays a game every year in his honor... against the Columbus Crew. They also have T-Shirts saying, "Play Like Connor Today" Not that I'm an Ohio State soccer fan... I've held season tickets for the Zips for 3 years... but I think that a moment of silence before the game to honor a fallen athlete would be a class act... and more importantly... it might also lessen some of the psyche that Ohio State uses to pump up for the Akron game. We don't like OSU... but we do not want any players to die during any game either. There's more to life than college soccer. There's... hmmm... I'll have to think about that.
  3. UConn will probably lose at least a couple before season is over. They never have been capable of putting it all together and this year will probably not be any exception. As long as we remain in top 4 on NSCAA poll it's fine by me. Bring on OSU!!!! Being top four is NSCAA poll may be a lagging indicator of being a top four seed, but it's not a lock. There's still a selection committee and they still lean on RPI and don't take any other ranking into account. Either way I could see us not losing a match this season and I'd have to think that would bode well for our seed. UCSB is the only match that I think we stand a decent chance of losing. Schedule is softer this year than the last couple. Totally agree with your assessment of the remaining schedule. Beating UCSB will be huge. Yes... the schedule looks weaker than the past few years... but that's because some teams have not performed as well as we anticipated... like OSU... Tulsa... and Wake Forest. When the schedule was released... it looked pretty tough. Also keep in mind that some teams are doing better than we thought... like Cal State Fullerton and Northern Illinois... so our RPI might not look too bad. Louisville might be the team that we need to look out for... RPI-wise. They are currently ranked below us and play a really tough schedule. Creighton might not have an RPI above ours. Maryland and UConn will be high also... as usual. Akron holds at #4 in the NSCAA Poll behind the trio of 8-win teams. http://www.nscaa.com/seniorRes.php?it=1653 NCAA Rankings National Men Division I 5th Poll - September 27, 2011 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rank School Prev. W - L - T 1 Connecticut (18) 569 2 8 - 0 - 0 2 Creighton (2) 544 3 8 - 0 - 0 3 Maryland (3) 543 1 8 - 0 - 1 4 Akron 499 4 5 - 0 - 2 5 North Carolina 479 6 7 - 1 - 0 6 Indiana 454 7 6 - 0 - 2 7 UC Irvine 421 8 8 - 1 - 0 8 Louisville 384 5 6 - 2 - 0 9 New Mexico 380 11 6 - 0 - 2 10 UC Santa Barbara 376 13 6 - 1 - 1 11 Notre Dame 341 17 5 - 1 - 2 12 Charlotte 339 14 7 - 1 - 0 13 Boston College 279 10 6 - 2 - 0 14 Central Florida 260 9 6 - 1 - 1 15 St. John's 240 12 5 - 2 - 1 16 South Florida 210 21 5 - 2 - 1 17 Georgetown 189 23 5 - 1 - 2 18 Northern Illinois 180 20 7 - 1 - 0 19 Penn State 138 16 5 - 2 - 1 20 Old Dominion 103 15 4 - 1 - 0 21 Kentucky 71 22 7 - 3 - 1 22 Washington 66 RV 5 - 1 - 2 23 Furman 53 25 7 - 1 - 2 24 East Tennessee State 52 RV 6 - 1 - 1 25 UCLA 50 18 5 - 3 - 1 Number in parentheses is number of first place votes Also receiving votes: Cal State Fullerton 47, Iona 44, SMU 32, West Virginia 25, George Mason 22, Xavier 16, Bradley 15, William & Mary 11, Coastal Carolina 10, Ohio State 6, Brown 6, Florida Gulf Coast 5, Monmouth 4, Santa Clara 3, Pennsylvania 2, Providence 2, UIC 1
  4. Probably a sign of things to come tomorrow... UConn has taken over the top spot in the Top Drawer and CSN Polls... #1 UConn, #2 Maryland, #3 UNC, #4 Akron http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/college-soc...DB_OEM_ID=10800 #1 UConn, #2 Maryland, #3 UNC, #4 Creighton, #5 Indiana, #6 Akron http://collegesoccernews.com/index_files/Page4958.htm
  5. Anyone catch the wrapup video for the Ladies game Sunday? Go here: http://gozips.com/sports/wsoc/2011-12/rele.../20110925r3exgo and scroll down to watch the video. The first goal is a cool score... from a free kick... a quick turn around by the blonde (Hughes) that the camera mostly missed. The last goal is from a corner kick at :45 seconds in the video. The kick is way off of the goal... more of a set-up/pass... and there are 6 defenders between the Akron MF/D (#14 Frawley) and the GK... but she heads it in just under the cross bar from 25 feet. Put the arrow on the scroll bar at 45 seconds and click a few times to see it again. The men should sign her up !!! That was a great goal!
  6. ZipsNation 2011 Update - Games 5 & 6 (vids of the starting lineup and some shots of the Akron Tournament games)
  7. I'm sorry for McAdams, but Ponikvar should be Meves' 1st backup. Poni did an outstanding job last season filling in for Meves when David was fouled and taken out at Northern Illinois. Our back line let a number of balls through that Poni had to save. I'm confident in his ability to step in again if needed.The bigger question..."Is Meves the best we have?" He's committed several errors this year that could easily have proven costly...most memorable was the inability to clear early on against New Mexico with Barson saving us again by kicking the ball out just before Sandoval reached it. Does Meves get too much credit given our back line play?I didn't want to have to say that... but this is also a question. I'm still a Meves fan... but I wonder what gets into his head sometimes. He was called last season... or maybe 2 seasons ago... for delaying a goal kick.. after a few warnings. You would think that he takes warnings seriously by now... but he doesn't. Even his parents were yelling at him last weekend!!!Meves has been playing behind the best defenders in the nation for the past 3 years. Just look at the Pro Drafts to see that. Although his Goals Against Average is outstanding... his saves to SOG is not going to lead the nation... or maybe even the MAC.I don't really think that Porter is actually "Resting" anyone on the team. He is just looking at his options... and evaluating talent... and chemistry... at MOST positions. Of course... chemistry is probably least important at GK. And... occasionally Porter is making a statement that if you have a good week in practice... you are going to get a shot at starting.We know that Poni is a great backup... but we do not know what anyone else can do... under the pressure of a game.I'm just curious... what do we have at GK? Porter was not looking for average GKs to put the pressure on Meves.... so we probably have some good talent at GK.
  8. Very few ZipsNation guys seem to get this... take away the OSU fan base in NE Ohio... from the Akron fan base... and there is very little left. Just go into a REAL bar during an Ohio State game. There's just more passion for OSU football in Akron and in NE Ohio than there ever will be for the Pilsbury Doughboy coach and his pathetic football program. There's a thousand times more passion for OSU in football. There's also more passion for Notre Dame... not quite sure why... but there is. ZipsNation will never change that.May father went to OSU... I went to OSU... grew up pulling for OSU... and grew up disliking most other Big 10 Schools... some more than others... but I still pull for ALL Big 10 schools over the ACC or SEC. There's someting at stake here in NE Ohio that goes beyond what UA can offer... and that's FOOTBALL and BASKETBALL pride on a national level... and the Big 10's struggle to stay competitive on a national level.You must be a closet ACC fan... or SEC fan... if you do not pull for the Big 10 schools!!! Of course... in soccer... I'm not an OSU fan... at all... still have that bitter taste after playing OSU in the 2008 NCAA... even though we won.But... I'm still practical. An OSU win helps our RPI... and it could be the difference in keeping a #4 seed later on. If it were not for our RPI... I would pull for Louisville... as they are a Midwest team... and they have a real shot of beating some ACC teams in the NCAA if they stay high in the rankngs...and play at home.
  9. Cool...Nice to know that we have a 6' 5" GK for 2012. I was afraid that Poni was falling in the ranks somewhat. Porter said somewhere... maybe a video interview... that he brought some GKs in to put some pressure on Meves... so I assumed that the new guys are pretty good too.Too bad about McAdams... probably he just wants to start somehwere. Hope he does well... just not well against Akron.
  10. Why? ???What if Meves twists an ankle and goes out for a few games? What if Meves bails on us at the end of the seaon?. Do we know that Poni is the guy to go to in 2012? Is he our #2 GK this year?We have no one with game experience aside from Poni... and we got a bunch of GKs this year for some reason. Why not give them some game experience? We have looked at a lot of other positions.Consider this... when Porter was interviewed after the Saint Louis game... he stated that Dagilis was ready... stayed sharp after playing behind Zarek... and he "brings it" every day to stay that way. You can't always count on that. With our back line... now and in the past few years... S.O.G.s are hard to come by for other teams... especially MAC teams. The last time we played WMU was the MAC Championship... and we beat them 4-0. WMU was 10-8-2 last year... they are 3-4-0 this year. Seems like a good game to give Meves some rest... and try a couple of other guys. Or... we could start Meves and platoon in the second half... provided we have a lead and no other injuries or issues.
  11. Opinion Requested...Is it that important for Meves’s resume to have started every game? We seldom see any playing time for GKs. I thought that maybe Western Michigan would be a good time to see another GK… but who? McAdams looked pretty tough and is apparently the second team guy… but what about Van der Merwe (6’ 4”) or Fenlason? Start McAdams… platoon the others in the second half?Also... Ohio State plays at Louisville tonight… key game. We might like OSU to win to boost our RPI rating when it comes out.
  12. Setting up for 2012...Zips 2011 Roster: http://gozips.com/sports/msoc/2011-12/roster?sort=year (for those who don't have it memorized)We have 3 Seniors that we will lose to graduation: Michael Balogun - Senior - Starter – Defending MidfielderMatt Dagilis – Senior - spot Starter – DefenderLuke Holmes – Senior - soon to be Starter – Forward/StrikerThe following are underclassmen who are the most likely to leave via a Generation Adidas Contract/ Sponsorship:Chad Barson – Junior - Starter - DefenderDarren Mattocks – Sophomore - Starter - Striker/forwardScott Caldwell – Junior - Starter - Midfielder David Meves – Junior - Starter – GKThe following are underclassmen who could possibly leave (Maybe 1 - Definitely not ALL) via a Generation Adidas Contract/ Sponsorship:Aodhan Quinn – Sophomore – Starter – MidfielderBrian Gallego – Freshman – Starter – DefenderDavid Mayer - Freshman – Starter – DefenderWil Trapp - Freshman – Starter – MidfielderDeAndre Yedlin - Freshman – Starter – DefenderEveryone is an Adidas candidate at this point… given the level of talent on this team… even freshmen… as we learned last year.Hopefully though… we’ll keep all of our freshmen… sophomores (Mattocks threw up a red flag already… and it might have cost him in the goal ranking this year)… and maybe we’ll even see a junior or two return for their senior year (Caldwell and Meves are often underrated)So Far… we have 2 class of 2012 players signed:http://rise.espn.go.com/boys-soccer/articl...ommitments.aspxMatt Foldesy............MF.......North Olmsted, Ohio....St. Ignatius............USSDA Internationals SC Andrew Souders.......D.........Amherst, Ohio............Amherst Steele.......USSDA Columbus Crew http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/players-to-...op-100/men/2012Souders is currently ranked the #6 prospect by TopDrawer. It does not appear that we are on the list of colleges for any other 5-Star player… but most are not listing colleges yet. Most of the East Coast guys are committed to ACC Teams… and most California guys are committed to California colleges. Maybe we can break into the California pool this year… and/or get another couple of guys from Texas too.
  13. Yep... 2 of their last 3 games were not very impressive... they are bound to fall... in October... from losses in the ACC... An Overtime win abainst U Maryland Baltimore County... and tie with SH.http://www.umterps.com/sports/m-soccer/sch...ccer-sched.html
  14. I don't understand how UNC is above the Zips in both polls. They lost to Va Tech who isn't even in the top 48 of TDS. Meanwhile, the Zips tied a couple of very tough teams. Makes no sense to me. All these polls are based on opinion only and I suppose only the final regular season NCSAA poll matters. Top 4 finish in this one gives you home field for playoffs. Still a long way to go before end of season and Zips will be there. New NSCAA poll is out and the top 4 remain the same so we are still at Number 4. GREAT NEWS... the Coaches have faith. SoccerAmerica is out too... where we are 5th:http://www.socceramerica.com/article/43859...ens-top-25.htmlLast year GoZips.com athletics... and most story lines from school sites... mentioned two polls being recognized by the NCAA.Now (2011)... there is only ONE poll recognized by the NCAA... the NSCAA Coaches poll.Notice that New Mexico moved from #16 to #11? We will likely see them again... very good team!Also... notice that our Akron fan at Goal.com is still very much in tune with the team:http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/2617/youth-...k-five-rankings6. Akron 4-0-2. The Zips are one piece away from putting this all together. It is going to click soon and put the offense back in high speed. Next up: Tulsa, September 24. PR: 2The one piece away is of course... Holmes.
  15. Nothing to get excited about... but more drops in the Polls... so far...#7http://collegesoccernews.com/index_files/Page4413.htm#5http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/college-soc...DB_OEM_ID=10800I have to think that Barrett was yanked from Sunday's game because he lost the ball on every touch at midfiled... because he thinks his job is only scoring... and leaves passing and possession for others to worry about.Mattocks was working on the same issue... and starting to show signs of being a total player... but then he got stupid. Either one of those guys could have ripped his head off... but instead... they got him to swing with some aggressive pushing.Tulsa is having an off year: http://www.tulsahurricane.com/sports/m-soc...ccer-sched.htmlThen we see Holmes... and maybe he can show our Jamaicans a few things.
  16. Yeah I think Holmes will start on the wing opposite of Quinn. We have a seen a few different guys start at that spot including Portillos, Schmitt, and most recently Stevenson. I think this has all been Porter trying to find someone to fill that position until Luke comes back. I Look forward to seeing how he impacts our game.What I think eventually happens is we do 1 of 2 things:the 2009 system. the back 4, then Balogun (zemanski role), Trapp (Gavin role) and Caldwell (Ampai role) as 3 central midfielders and Quinn (Nanchoff role) on the left. With Holmes (Nagbe role) off of Mattocks (Bunbury role). This system was a pleasure to watch and difficult for opposing teams to deal with because the right side was left open for Sarkodie, and Yeddelin would thrive in such a system. This may take time to get down and being already late September when he comes back they may go for a more simple approach to developing a system which brings me to my second ideathe 2010 system was essentially a 4-4-2 with a diamond midfield or a 4-1-3-2. The 4 midfielders were all pretty central allowing the width to come from the outside backs who were so comfortable going forward. Holmes would much more thrive in a central role off of a main striker like Mattocks rather then in a wide role (although he could certainly do a job in such a role). The reason we've played 4-3-3 up to this point is simply personnel. We dont have anyone besides Mattocks who is an out and out striker and Holmes certainly is just that. Also we did avert to a 4-4-1 when down a man vs New Mexico and all 4 midfielders looked very comfortable in their roles playing a tighter diamond shape. here's how I'd line us up vs OSU on Wed.Holmes and Mattocks up front; Diamond Midfield - Caldwell attacking mid, Trapp and Quinn, and Balogun holding; Back 4 of Mayer, Barson, Gallego, and Yeddelin.I vote for the 2010 system... Holmes central... good position for balls off of defenders and off of bars... if he is not free to take a pass. I just wish that he was 6'4" for set plays.
  17. Yeah I think Holmes will start on the wing opposite of Quinn. We have a seen a few different guys start at that spot including Portillos, Schmitt, and most recently Stevenson. I think this has all been Porter trying to find someone to fill that position until Luke comes back. I Look forward to seeing how he impacts our game.What I think eventually happens is we do 1 of 2 things:the 2009 system. the back 4, then Balogun (zemanski role), Trapp (Gavin role) and Caldwell (Ampai role) as 3 central midfielders and Quinn (Nanchoff role) on the left. With Holmes (Nagbe role) off of Mattocks (Bunbury role). This system was a pleasure to watch and difficult for opposing teams to deal with because the right side was left open for Sarkodie, and Yeddelin would thrive in such a system. This may take time to get down and being already late September when he comes back they may go for a more simple approach to developing a system which brings me to my second ideathe 2010 system was essentially a 4-4-2 with a diamond midfield or a 4-1-3-2. The 4 midfielders were all pretty central allowing the width to come from the outside backs who were so comfortable going forward. Holmes would much more thrive in a central role off of a main striker like Mattocks rather then in a wide role (although he could certainly do a job in such a role). The reason we've played 4-3-3 up to this point is simply personnel. We dont have anyone besides Mattocks who is an out and out striker and Holmes certainly is just that. Also we did avert to a 4-4-1 when down a man vs New Mexico and all 4 midfielders looked very comfortable in their roles playing a tighter diamond shape. here's how I'd line us up vs OSU on Wed.Holmes and Mattocks up front; Diamond Midfield - Caldwell attacking mid, Trapp and Quinn, and Balogun holding; Back 4 of Mayer, Barson, Gallego, and Yeddelin.Yep...But who is this guy who "played at a high level"?I think that he sits behind me in section 203... maybe in the same row as Caldwell's parents... or close to it.
  18. Sounds reasonable... but the 6 will be from 1 TD and a missed PAT... after a 70+ yeard play... not from 2 drives downfield.BGSU - 6 turnovers today... lost via a missed PAT on the last drive...
  19. Please don't assume that games against those teams will prove to be any more productive. Frankly when Ianello decided to go with a QB who had never played in his system,and,as far as I know never threw a pass at the DI level and didn't actually show anything more in 'pre-season' than Nicely,it said to me that he was starting all over again. Ianello isn't in it to win much if anything this year. He knows he as at least 1 if not 2 more years before the AD actually expects any consistent winning.One component of Consitent Winning is Consitent Recruiting...If we consistently recruit like the incoming 2012 class... we better get used to 0-11 seasons.There's always SOCCER.
  20. There should have been another card on that altercation... but no question that Mattocks eraned his red card for a hit in the face.Maybe it will be good to see Barrett for a whole game... he's got 2 goals to Mattacks 4... playing far less than half the time that Mattocks plays.
  21. I haven't watched the replay yet... but I agree...There were a small handful of plays down the left side that resulted in misplays out of bounds... but there were also times when the open left side was met by 2 or more defenders... and the lone Zip lost control of the ball to the D.This had to have been designed... but where was the help on these plays?
  22. Also... another bit for the Fox TV guys...The ladies play at 1:00 PM... and the first game of the Akron Tournament is at 4:00 PM.... so the field will not look as immaculate as usual for the 3rd game of the day at 7:00 PM. They should probably mention this!Correction... Ladies play on SAT... but still 1 game prior to the televised game
  23. Also... another bit for the Fox TV guys...The ladies play at 1:00 PM... and the first game of the Akron Tournament is at 4:00 PM.... so the field will not look as immaculate as usual for the 3rd game of the day at 7:00 PM. They should probably mention this!
  24. We are confusing memories… with “stories coming out of the Akron area from the fan perspective”. Memories are cool... but the color analyst doesn't need to go too far back in time to make an interesting comment during the game or at halftime. Maybe some of you can share someting that makes Akron look good... today!Here's my input...Topic:We are in NE Ohio… one of the most “Championship Starved” areas in the USA.Personally… this doesn’t bother most fans too much… like me… and we have had relatively recent years where we had the best team in the NBA… the best team in Major League Baseball… and the Browns… there just hasn’t been much good to say about them for a few decades…Ohio State keeps giving us hope… and occasional glimpses of a premier program… in Football and Basketball…But… the PREMIER sports team in Ohio is the Akron Zips Soccer organization. We are not just having a few good years… we could have a dynasty here in the making. We manage to get the best players available… and we mold them into even better players with Porter’s guidance. We “Build Champions and Pursue Championships”… as Porter says. Even in the “Recruiting Challenged” situation that we had after 2010… where we landed a few of the best players in the country… but then suddenly needed several more players after the SuperDraft… we were able to assemble a premier college team… again. We have become a leading conduit to pro soccer. Topic:Porter also says that one a player visits the campus… “it’s an easy sell”… as we have some of the best soccer facilities in the country… one of the coolest college campuses in the country… and some of the newest… largest… and coolest dorms in the world.Topic:It’s also an easy sell converting other fans… into Akron Soccer fans. In the last year… I converted a die-hard Browns fan into an Akron Season Ticket Holder… just by taking her to a game. I also converted a Harvard Graduate school grad into a "University of Akron" fan… because she loves the campus (she is a highly respected, well-known, global Design Architect)… and she is also following Zips Soccer now. She is currently (Today) looking for a way to follow the New Mexico game on Fox Sports World Canada.If you want to show your Fox Sports color analyst some pics of the campus and dorms… I have gathered many… and I can forward them to you if you send me a private message with your email. Probably… they will not have time for a campus tour.
  25. The invincible looking #1 Maryland gave up 3 goals and needed overtime to beat UMBC last night... the University of Maryland Baltimore County...http://www.ncaa.com/news/soccer-men/articl...d-survives-umbcMaybe they will not sweep the ACC this year.
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